Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Coconut Joe Helps Me Out

Last summer I had the pleasure of attending my cousin’s wedding in Belize.It was a beautiful ceremony on the beach, it was breezy and had cooled down considerably from earlier that day when the August temperatures had reached well over 90 degrees and the humidity was close to 100 percent.At the time my aunt was training to walk the Chicago marathon and, despite the heat, she was determined to get in her power walk that morning.I decided to join her and off we went to walk 10 miles along the beach of Ambergris Caye.We started off early, as to beat the mid day heat, but the sweat was pouring only a few minutes into the walk.By mile 7 I was petering out, but that is when I met “Coconut Joe”.He was cracking green coconuts on the beach and passing them out to people as they strolled by.He called out to us and immediately I was at his side sipping the delicious coconut water.After my coconut pit stop I was ready to take on the rest of the walk, no problem.I felt refreshed, had pep in my step and my thirst had been quenched.

you have never tried it, coconut water is truly miraculous.It is the liquid that comes from inside the young coconut, not to be confused with coconut milk, which comes from pressing the coconut meat.It is a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, and calcium.Coconut water is a naturally isotonic beverage, which means it has the same electrolyte balance as our blood.This makes it an ideal sports drink!Other sport drinks on the market today feature ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors, which are things that I don’t really care to “refuel” with.It is available in supermarkets and comes in tetra packs and cans so you can find it even if you live somewhere that coconuts don’t grow overhead.So, after your next workout or power walk on the beach swap out your Gatorade and give it a try!

Coconut water is amazing. It can help calm your stomach if you're ill - ie - it was GREAT for hangovers! (Where was Vitacoco when I was in college??) Whole Foods has 2 good brands. I like to drink it with some juice in it - a small amount just to give it a kick. Ice cold. And it's way better than Gatorade! In fact, Gatorade and the like, when you drink it after working out will totally spike your blood sugar levels.